Four Cloud-powered Tools

Stan Skrabut

@uwcesedtech #uwces

http://www.slideshare.net/skrabut

Increasingly, you collect resources to be used later.

You are a professional who is on the move.

You have to work with information from multiple devices

You want to simplify synchronization of files from device to device.

Let me show you four great tools for managing your information.

Dropbox provides you with the ability

to access files anywhere.

Dropbox is a file syncing service located in the cloud.

You can store up to 2Gb free and up to 100Gb for a fee.

Free

Pro 50

Pro 100

You can share folders with multiple people in a secure environment.

You can access your files from mobile devices, computers, or Web browsers.

You can upload files three different ways.

You can use the Desktop client which creates a My Dropbox folder in your My Documents folder.

You can upload and download files through the Web interface.

You can email files to your folders through services such as “Send to Dropbox” and “Habilis.”

Other than store important documents, here are some other uses for Dropbox.

You can sync file settings across multiple computers, for example, MS templates

You could host Web design mockups from the public folder.

Set Dropbox as your documents folder for accessible and secure file storage.

Sync your iTunes folder across multiple computers.

Access PDF files and books from your iPhone or iPad.

Create a custom home page for your iPhone.

You can have the same background wallpaper on all of your computers.

You can learn more at http://www.dropbox.com/

Evernote is a great tool for collecting

and organizing your thoughts.

Here are some essential things to do to get the most from Evernote.

1. Create account2. Include on computers3. Add Web clipper4. Link to Twitter5. Add email account

Create your Evernote account.

Install the Evernote application to all your computers and mobile devices.

Update your Web browsers with the Evernote Web Clipper.

Tie your Evernote account to your Twitter account to collect Tweets.

Add your Evernote e-mail account to all your e-mail programs so you can forward messages to Evernote.

With Evernote you can capture everything.

At the basic level, you can click on New Note and type in or paste in text.

You can drag images or text files into Evernote.

You can capture audio notes, great for an idea on the road.

With the Web clipper, you can capture all or part of a Web page.

You can e-mail messages from any device that can send an email.

You can send Tweets directly to Evernote by following @myEN

Once you have files loaded in Evernote, you can organize and search in many different ways.

All of your notes can be placed into “notebooks.”

Additionally, you can tag each note with multiple tags so you can aid in finding notes.

Evernote will search keywords, notes, tags, and even text written in images.

Notebooks can be shared with others.

Here are some great ideas for using Evernote.

Capture ideas for future blog posts, podcasts, lessons, or news articles.

Capture all the Web sites, notes, pictures, contacts from a conference.

Store the clothing and jewelry sizes from your significant other.

Capture ideas for your next vacation.

Put together lists for movies, books, articles, etc.

Store images for your home inventory.

Capture images or Web pages of discounts.

Store keys for various software applications.

Collect recipes.

Store receipts for products.

Capture whiteboard notes from a meeting or keep notes for a meeting.

Store notes, handouts, Web links for a class whether you are a student or teacher.

Basically, capture everything; if you put it on a list for future reference then Evernote is your tool.

You can learn more at http://www.evernote.com

Zotero will help you organize your

research.

There are a few different ways to add resources to Zotero.

You can type in the reference information.

You can magically enter in an ISBN number.

You can capture bibliographic information from the Web.

With a click of an icon, you can archive Web pages.

Finally, you can import items from other reference tools.

It is possible to create a library with other users both public and private.

Once you have added records, there are many ways to enhance, organize, and search for them.

From the master library, you can organize them into collections.

The power of Zotero is in the ability to take useful research notes for each item.

By adding tags, you can filter items based on categories.

Once you have items added, you can sort and search through them using basic and advanced searching.

Now that you spent so much time getting resources in, you need to get them out in a useful manner.

First, you can create a bibliography formatted according to common styles.

With Microsoft Word and OpenOffice plug-ins, you can cite and reference items directly in your document.

You are able to generate reports of your entire listing or just selected items.

You can also see your collection as part of a timeline.

You can learn more at http://www.zotero.org

Diigo will help you collect and

organize your links.

Diigo is a link bookmarking service located in the cloud.

To get the most out of Diigo, first create an account and install the toolbar, Diigolet, or extension.

To see bookmarks on the road, load the Diigo application for your iPhone or iPad.

Once your tools have been added, you can customize them for your convenience.

Here are the basics of capturing bookmarks using Diigo.

When you find a Web site you want to bookmark, you select bookmark from the Diigo Web highlighter.

With Diigo, it is possible to highlight text in a Web site in four different colors.

You can also add sticky notes to your pages; these can be public, private, or group specific.

There are a number of ways to search for bookmarks.

You can find bookmarks by searching for a tag.

You can do a full test search for your bookmarks.

You can search your lists for bookmarks.

You can also see all the links from the same site.

Benefit from people you trust by networking with them.

There are groups of individuals who share like-minded bookmarks.

You can learn more at http://www.diigo.com